Does anyone have any advice/experience or TEFL teaching in Romania/Bucharest?

I've done a bit of research in this forum and elsewhere, and im getting the impression pay can be very low, baring mind that the cost of living is not as cheap as most people perceive .

My other question is a more long term question; is it possible with qualification and experience (celta) to get a tefl job in an international school without the traditional teaching cert (pgce here in uk).

Are there other tefl type positions available ? Business english, or training positions etc?

There are language schools, but not a huge amount. They tend to pay quite badly. The international Schools can pay a little better, according to experience, and offer some promotional opportunities. Some of the bilingual high schools hire native speakers and even offer accommodation - they don't pay huge amounts either (it'd be local teacher level pay) but some people start off there. Offering in-company training can pay well, as can private tutoring, business English classes, and exam prep for high school students/uni applications but you'd probably need to get started here first and build up to that (local knowledge and contacts). There are a few training outfits who might hire, but more likely on a contract-by-contract basis rather than a fixed-income one.

In short, it's probably not the best place if you just want to be an employee at a language school, but you can do reasonably well if you're more entrepreneurial.

Not sure about the certificate but I'm fairly certain an school that wanted to hire you would find a way, especially if you had some other qualification (CELTA, for example). It's quite common practice here for employers to be a little creative with your job title on the work contract.

Cost of living isn't too bad, all depends on the lifestyle you want. If you want to live in a fancy expat neighbourhood in a large flat and eat out every night in pretentious western-priced restaurants, drive a thirsty car and been seen at the best clubs at the weekend, then you might struggle! If you just want to live normally, then it's doable, even to the extent of saving a little here and there.

Info on the tefl scene is thin on the ground, there is info in various forums on nearly every other country, but getting info on Romania is near impossible. I kind of figured the tefl scene is not thriving there!

Basically, typical story, i have a girlfriend who is from Romania. We are weighing up pros and cons of me living there. Im literally looking at any option, but i'm well aware of the low salaries over there, even for Romanian nationals.

I've also looked at the possibility of other english speaking jobs, they are available but seem to be limited to call centre type work, which i'm not sure id last in to be honest!

I was aware that the pay was quite low, i was just wondering if it is possible more long term to carve out a semi secure living there more long term. I think it might be a challenge.

Yes, it's definitely possible. I've been here for 13 years now and I'm happy with my choice. A lot of it depends on your mindset though. It might be a little harder if you just want to get a regular job, PAYE, and lots of employer support; jobs like that in EFL are harder to find but do try some of the international high schools. I'd recommend being here in person for that, and it's probably a little late in the year now, barring a few possible no-shows for the new academic year.

Have a girlfriend here should make it easier. From your post I get the impression she's in the UK with you now, so if she can land a job here, that'll give you a bit of a cushion while you get set up. You'd probably have to be willing to turn your hand to a variety of things - private tuition, essay writing, proofing, and so on. It'd also be smart to save a chunk of change before coming over here, at least enough to secure a small flat and pay around 6 months of rent, get stuff you need, cover bills, and so on. That'd take some of the pressure off while you sorted out some income.

Call centre work is probably out, unless you know another language. English-language skills amongst the younger generation here are pretty good, so they don't really struggle to find employees at the call centres for English language support. That's not to say you wouldn't be able to get a job at one, it's a real possibility, it's just that the salaries are quite low for English. If you know a less common language, like Dutch, there are fewer opportunities, but almost no Romanians know Dutch so pay is substantially higher (around double).

Romanians like to do a lot of things by word-of-mouth recommendation so you need a period to get yourself out there, but once you've made a few contacts, you'll find they're happy to recommend you (assuming you do decent job, obviously). I haven't need to advertise for...don't even know how long, but probably around a decade!

You also have to be quite flexible, not just in teaching, but for life here in general. I know a lot of people who've moved here and found it a little frustrating.

There are a few positions for trainers and teachers, and even an editing job for an e-company (probably for their English-language news stuff). I don't know your qualifications and background, but I'm sure there's something you can turn your hand to.

A quick note about job hunting here:

You'll notice few of the jobs quote a salary. That's a common practice here. The idea is that the employee presents him/herself and his/her skills and then states the desired salary. The employer than takes this into consideration when choosing a candidate. Teaching work is more likely to have a fixed hourly rate, however, but you might still find that the pay is something that gets discussed once you've been to an interview.

No, she's in Romania. She lived overseas for many years and went back home not to long ago. With the cheap flights i manage to visit once every 5-6weeks

Like i said, at this stage i'm literally at the research stage. From a logical point of view it would be way easier if she moved here, as she's bright and multilingual with quite a bit of experience . But i'm sensing she's quite close to her family. Its quite a big step for either of us to take. I wouldn't mind if i could just earn an living wage in the short term.

I love the country though. It annoys the hell out of me when i hear ignorant people bad mouth the place based on what they hear on the TV. Romania has so much going for it.

What is your background if you don't mind me asking? How did you make the move to Romania?

To be honest, most of the negative stuff you hear does has some basis in truth, and of course, when people first move here, it's often the stuff that you have to deal with in the first months, and I guess when you're in that transitional phase, suffering a bit of culture shock, struggling to work out how to get by, those negatives sting a lot more. Before moving to Romania I lived in Turkey for five years, so actually I found moving here a little easier than most.

I made the move here after deciding to leave Turkey, where I'd also been teaching. I'd enjoyed living abroad, had no particular desire to move back to the UK, and thought Eastern Europe would be more challenging and less saturated. I looked at a few countries, but chose Romania for several reasons: easier language (I'd realised the importance of learning the local language in Turkey and as I was moving alone, I wanted to be able to pick up the basics pretty quickly), nice climate, lovely landscapes and history (I'd visited a couple of time before moving), reasonable cost of living, a demand for native speakers and finally I received a job offer from a training outfit which basically sealed the deal. Packed a bag, jumped on the train, and here I am.

I'm sure you'll manage here. I don't know where you are career-wise, but maybe make a plan to come for a year with your girlfriend (is she in Bucharest?) and see how it goes. Even if it doesn't work out long term, you'll have had a great period of your life. If you're young (20-30) you'll find Bucharest quite fun - lots of clubs, lots of activities (cycling, skating in winter), and the young are quite friendly and open, although you do need an introduction (which you'll have via your gf). The city is pretty safe (most 'crime' comes down to petty theft, crap driving, and anything the politicians do) and much more interesting than people give it credit for. Plus you can jump on a bus/train and explore the mountains, the seaside, go hiking or exploring, mountain biking trails and a loads of good stuff.